Transformation of Literary Translations of the Literary Classics by Abai Kunanbayev

Abstract

Kazakh poet Abai Kunanbayuly has a dualistic heritage as the father of modern Kazakh literature (as opposed to its oral tradition), and as an educator who translated Russian literary classics into Kazakh language and performed as a vital bridge between the two cultures. The Abai's reputation was built primarily due to the writer, critic and scientist of the 20th century Mukhtar Auezov, whose biographical works about the poet created the standard narrative about his life and work. The objective of the article is to examine the life, work, and enduring influence of Abai Kunanbayuly, with a focus on his efforts to connect Kazakh and Russian cultures through his literary contributions and translations. Additionally, it aims to analyse the changing understandings of his significance in Kazakh literature and cultural history. It was established that Abai's efforts led to the discovery of a real Kazakh literary voice, as evidenced by his successful adaptation of Pushkin's "Evgeniy Onegin" into the traditional form of Kazakh song. The "conquest" of Central Asia by Russian literature was, in fact, a multidimensional dialogue, where writers founded distinctive national literary traditions by appropriating the literature of the coloniser, and, by reading, translating, displacing, domestication and "disorienting" the figure of Pushkin in particular. It has been established that Abai does not retain all the names of the main characters but uses Kazakh analogies. The Abai’s translation of Krylov's fables is associated primarily with elements of creativity such as landscapes, everyday life pictures and scenes.